How to plan your dream kitchen renovation

As we've been told time and time again on The Block, kitchens sell houses and if this year's stunning Freedom designs are anything to go by, most of contestants are going to clean up come auction time.

However, not everyone got the design elements of their kitchen right on last night's reveal. Clint and Hannah made the rookie mistake of not leaving enough room for a big family fridge, and Stick and Wombat came under fire from judge Shaynna Blaze for their overuse of feature materials.

Safe to say, strategic planning is the key to creating your dream kitchen.

Senior Designer at Freedom Kitchens, Felicity Page shared her insights with us on how to make that dream kitchen a reality:

Research

Josh and Elyse flipped the orientation of their kitchen island bench to create more space

"Do your research and look at lots of different kitchen styles for inspiration – use Pinterest as a resource or the galleries on Freedom Kitchens, so that you have an idea of the look you want, making sure that it suits the rest of your house," says Felicity.

"Functionality is key, so think about how you use your kitchen. Do you need lots of storage, and do you actually do a lot of cooking and entertaining? Is it truly the hub of your home where you will spend a lot of time? If so things like a central island bench makes it a more social space, and a butler’s pantry is a popular way to keep mess out of the main space when entertaining."

Plan your appliances

Ronnie and Georgia's state-of-the-art ovens

"Appliances should be considered early in your planning, as your kitchen layout and measurements need to accommodate them," says Felicity. "Key considerations are the size of fridge and dishwasher you need for your family, and whether you’d like them integrated with your cabinetry, as well as the cooking technology you’d like to use – for example, gas v induction cooktop."

Storage

Both Sarah and Jason and Josh and Elyse incorporated butler's pantries under the stairs for extra storage

"A starting point for working out your storage is to take a look at your current kitchen space – is it meeting your needs? And do you see your needs changing in the future? There’s really no such thing as too much storage, so a good kitchen planner can help show you clever ways to incorporate more storage into the same amount of space,"she says.

Follow the golden triangle

Ronnie and Georgia followed the golden triangle layout

When in doubt on how to design your kitchen layout, follow the golden triangle principle - to maximise kitchen efficiency your fridge, sink and cooktop should be laid-out as a triangle. According to experts, these three points and the imaginary lines between them, make up the golden triangle.

"In most cases this is a great rule to follow as it connects the three most used points in a kitchen for maximum efficiency: the fridge, sink and cooktop," says Felicity.

"However in smaller homes like studio apartments this won’t be the best layout, where a single line kitchen will save space."

Incorporate trends

Sarah and Jason's soft metallic cabinetry was a hit with the judges

Subdued greys were a big focus in last night's reveals, but Felicity says Sarah and Jason's metallic cabinetry and Ronnie and Georgia's concrete are big trends to look out for in 2018.

"Kitchen design trends that are heating up right now in terms of materials include a new wave of metallics in more sophisticated, subdued sheens, and concrete and timber textures," says Felicity.